ALLAN THE MAN

The Gilas Pilipinas, Philippine national men’s basketball team blew a huge lead but managed to hang on to edge hosts Chinese Taipei, 77-69, to begin its campaign in the 37th William Jones Cup Sunday night at the Xinchuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Big buckets by Terrence Romeo, who top-scored for the team with 18 points along with four assists, and Jayson Castro, who finished with 16 points, rescued Gilas Pilipinas as they opened the tournament with a win.

The Taiwanese looked wobbly in the third quarter, after a 16-point explosion from Larry Fonacier gave Gilas a 68-55 advantage heading into the final period. But as the Philippines relaxed, Chinese Taipei started the period on a 17-4 run to tie the match at 72-all with 5:11 left in the game.

Holding a slim 54-53 edge entering the final period, the Philippines opened with a 17-4 assault capped by a corner three-pointer by Gary David to take a 71-57 lead with 3:51 left in the game.

Chinese Taipei got its bearings back, scoring nine straight points to stay within striking distance, 71-66, with 1:52 left. But the Taiwanese could not come any closer against the tough Philippine defense, scoring just two points the rest of the way. Two free throws by LA Tenorio and a layup up by Jeff Chan sealed the game for the Philippines.